Panic! at the Disco
Uptown Amphitheatre
Aug. 13, 2014

Panic! At the Disco’s The Gospel Tour hit the Uptown Amphitheatre on Wednesday night and successfully showed the Queen City just how much the band has evolved in its 10-year run — as people, as a band and musically. Parlaying mostly between songs from their first album and the most recent release, Panic! reminded fans why they’ve stuck with the band for the last decade despite the group only retaining one original member (and four albums that differ so stylistically that it sometimes reflects those departing members).

Three songs in, lead singer Brendon Urie was drenched in sweat and looked ready to pass out, but assured the waiting crowd he was "just getting started. I know I look like I'm done." He then stripped off his shirt, making everyone (girls and guys alike) swoon.

When you've got a backlog of songs as stylistically different as Panic!, a live show in which they must be merged seems like it would be a challenge. But it doesn't come off that way. For 22 songs, the four piece tore through high-energy punk, electro pop and synthesized beats that definitely showcased their Las Vegas roots. Opening with "Vegas Lights" and "Time to Dance," Urie's voice ran the gamut, and he continued on for the entirety of the 90-minute show hitting every low note, every high note and everything in between without seeming like he was even trying. The guy hit Freddie Mercury's high note while covering "Bohemian Rhapsody" without trying, for goodness sake - he's not just the face of the band, he's what helps to define it.

There wasn't much interaction with the crowd between songs (besides a brief story "about a girl I used to fuck, who fucked all my friends, and then I joined a band.... So fuck her" before "Miss Jackson") but the showmanship alone kept the fans tuned in. Yes, the guitar solos and Urie's vocals are impressive, but the guy also did a back flip off the drum riser out of nowhere. There's definitely a lot of elements at work here that keep the crowd always watching to see what's next.

Panic! was the headliner for a reason, but opener Walk the Moon was on its way to stealing the show. Playing as the sun slowly set, the Ohio band started with a crowd that didn't appear familiar with the music to getting the entire crowd on their feet dancing and screaming. They're a pop-rock group that incorporates a fun and electro sound that can't be ignored, and it certainly doesn't hurt that throughout their whole set, they are shaking their hips to the music like Shakira. This is a band to watch.

The night ended with a three-song encore from Panic! At the Disco, but instead of just playing their hits (which they did of course - you can't have a Panic! show without ending with their biggest hit to date, "I Write Songs Not Tragedies") they did something different.

Urie performed what he calls "Positive-Hardcore," a concept only his Vine followers typically get to see in which he screams a minute or two of positive affirmations in the style of heavy metal bands. It summed the show up nicely: Panic! at the Disco can perform, but they can also have a hell of a lot of fun, and they'll do pretty much anything to make sure their fans do too.

Panic! At the Disco Setlist
Vegas Lights
The Ballad of Mona Lisa
The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage
Let's Kill Tonight
Girls/Girls/Boys
Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
Trade Mistakes
New Perspective
Casual Affair
Miss Jackson
Nine in the Afternoon
The End of All Things
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen cover)
Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
Nicotine
But It's Better if You Do
Collar Full
Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...)

Encore
This is Gospel
Positive Hardcore
I Write Sins Not Tragedies